Kinetic control aspects and mechanisms in oriented membrane processes for extraction and recovery of ascorbic acid...

Ascorbic acid comprises four enantiomers, with only one of them, L-ascorbic acid, recognized as vitamin C. The modern industries place significant importance on obtaining this compound in its purest form. The challenge is to recover L-ascorbic acid, which requires specific processes within these industries. To satisfy this condition, purification is needed, a process that requires large quantities of solvents and high energy consumption. To overcome these limitations, we conducted a study on the facilitated extraction of L-ascorbic acid using three affinity polymer membranes, including supported liquid membrane (SLM), polymer inclusion membrane (PIM), and grafted polymer membranes (GPM) with cholic acid as the extractive agent. Following the characterization of the membranes using IR spectroscopy and SEM techniques, we investigated various parameters associated with substrate diffusion through the organic membrane phase. Regarding the biologically active L-ascorbic acid, our research findings indicated that kinetic factors drove the mechanisms of the studied processes.